NPR Helps the Fed Speak English

The mandarins of the Federal Reserve speak in plain English? Never! Not without the help help of some very capable translators, that is.

Fortunately, we have just such a group in Jacob Goldstein
of NPR's Planet Money and Slate. They teamed up to decipher the Federal Reserve's latest statement
on its policies for the next six weeks. The result? A document that, as
you click on individual sentences, switches from things like "employers
remain reluctant to add to payrolls" to the plain-English "nobody's
hiring." Likewise, "housing starts are at a depressed level" becomes
"the construction business still sucks." Here are a couple more of our favorites:

Measures
of underlying inflation are currently at levels somewhat below those
the Committee judges most consistent, over the longer run, with its
mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability. --> You know how we're always worried about high inflation? Now we're worried about low inflation. Crazy, right? ...

The
Committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial
developments and is prepared to provide additional accommodation if
needed to support the economic recovery and to return inflation, over
time, to levels consistent with its mandate.
--> We'll keep an eye on things, and if we need to create trillions
more dollars out of thin air to bring down unemployment and pump up
inflation, that's what we'll do. Boom.

There's a choice bit at the end where Goldstein translates the
dissenting opinion of one Mr. Hoenig.
Read the original: "given economic
and financial conditions, Mr. Hoenig did not believe that continuing to
reinvest principal payments from its securities holdings was required
to support the Committee's policy objectives." Golstein's translation: "given his views on the economy and the banks, Mr. Hoenig thinks the Fed should chill out a little bit."